Wolves' pups learning to howl

The Sudbury Wolves' young defence corps is taking its licks this season, but fans don't have to toss away their sunglasses yet because the future is bright.

Sudbury is in a dogfight with Kingston and Erie to stay out of last place overall in the OHL and wins are far and few between.

It isn't a totally lost cause though. The inexperience shown by the Wolves young blueliners will bode well for the future, but the growing pains right now are going to be uncomfortable and even nauseating at times.

It's all for the best as these young men will learn from their mistakes this season and mature as players in the process.
It's hard not to get excited when thinking about the potential in the Wolves rookie-laden defence.

The two big studs are Daniel Maggio and Peter Hermenegildo. Both are 16 and were key members of Team Ontario's gold medal-winning Under-17 squad. Maggio, six-foot-two and 190-pounds, has eights points in 45 games, while Hermenegildo has five goals and 17 points in 37 games. Both have plenty of hustle and bustle in their games, along with great speed and grit.

Chris VanLaren, 17, has added tremendous size, courage and spirit to the blueline. VanLaren could turn out to be a top end, mean-as-a-junkyard-dog type defender. He has six points in 37 games.

Tyler Sheldrake and Brandon Greenside, both 18, will also be a big part of the future.

Sheldrake has just seven points in 42 games, but he has toughness in spades and has a nasty, no-nonsense style. The six-foot, 205-pounder  makes other players pay a heavy price for loitering around the Wolves' net.

Greenside, as I have said in a past column, could be the Wolves top power play quarterback and has 14 points in 40 games. The five-foot-11 defender has incredible speed and great poise with the puck in all situations.

These five players are all in their first season in the OHL and have demonstrated they will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

I couldn't help but notice the Wolves goal tending tandem of Alain Valiquette and Andrew Loverock, both of whom looked fairly solid this past weekend. With the exception of the 8-4 loss to Oshawa, both goalies have improved remarkably.

Valiquette made 57 saves in a huge 5-2 road win over Owen Sound. Valiquette made 19 saves in each period and earned the game's first star.

On Sunday, Loverock was put to the ultimate test: stop the top rated team in Canada, the Kitchener Rangers.

Loverock made 46 saves, giving Sudbury a chance to win the game, but they lost 4-2. Loverock's performance against Kitchener, which has the best offence in the OHL, was unbelievable, but it was lost on the people down there.

Loverock wasn't even named a star in the game, which is total hogwash. The line of Eric O'Dell, Patrik Lusnak and Jared Staal continued to roll. Their efforts combined for three goals and 11 points over the weekend. O'Dell now has four goals and nine points in his first seven games.

The Wolves big line of Gerome Giudice, Matt Dias and J.K. Gill also came up big over the weekend, picking up four goals and 11 points themselves.

There's still a lot to like about this Wolves' squad and they should be a playoff contender next season.